Percy Jackson and the Curse of Pride
by Margoroxas517
Summary: When Percy saves three new half-bloods from St. Louis, he introduces them to camp. Two fit right in, but one is uh, unique. And Luke comes back and causes trouble. What'll happen? Read and find out! Better than it sounds! PERCABETH! NicoXOC! Plz read!
1. I Sneak Out for Rescue

Percy's P.O.V

"Can you believe it?" Grover yelled.

"Relax, Grover," I said. Grover was having a panic attack because a bunch of half-bloods were spotted near St. Louis, and Chiron won't grant anyone a quest to save them. I had to admit, it wasn't like Chiron to leave a camper in danger. But they were a lot of things going on right now, so I guess I can't blame him.

"I wish there was something we could do," Annabeth sighed.

"Who says there isn't?" I asked.

Annabeth glared at me. "Gosh, Seaweed Brain. Didn't you hear Chiron? No quests are being granted to go and help."

"So?"

Annabeth ignored me.

"Just drop it Percy," Grover said after calming down a bit, "Maybe it's for the best. I mean, they'd just die more painful deaths if they knew."

They walked off without me.

"Wait, you guys! We can still help. I can prove it!" But it was no use. They were way to far away to hear now.

I blew the stray hair out my line of vision. Just as I was thinking to myself about how I needed a haircut, a big, black Pegasus swooped down over me and landed by my side.

_Hey boss! How about a nice juicy sugar cube? No? Well, you're gonna change your mind after the idea I offer you!_

Blackjack. Should have guessed. "What idea?" I asked him.

_Well, I overheard your little problem with your friends about saving those kids at the arch. I think you just found yourself a runaway horse. Price only one sugar cube._

I smiled. "Deal," I told him.

_Good! See at the fireworks beach, ten o'clock. Sharp! And don't tell anyone!_

And he flew away.

I decided I might as well go get packed. As I packed, Grover's words raced through my mind. _'They'd just die more painful deaths if they knew.'_ Should I really just drop it? I pushed that thought aside as I zipped up my suitcase.

I made it to the Gateway Arch just in time.

As I landed, I heard screaming. Desperate screaming. I ran to the source of the noise and found three girls, surrounded by empousai.

"It's ok," one empousai hissed, "We want to help you. Poor young half-bloods."

"Yes," another snickered, "We can make it all better."

"Half-bloods?" the middle girl asked, "What do you mean?"

"Get away," the older girl warned.

"Someone help us!" The youngest girl yelled.

"We are trying to help," the lead empousai soothed, "Just one bite," she said hungrily, licking her lips.

My turn to jump in. "No!" I yelled.

I was too quick for them, luckily. I slashed them all with Riptide, turning them to yellow monster puff.

The girls stared at me like I was crazy. I probably looked crazy. I called Blackjack over. He came with three other Pegasi.

"We're gonna… we're gonna ride those?!" the young one asked, apparently terrified and excited.

"Yep," I managed. The girls were all pretty, and were all sisters.

The oldest, 17, had pale green eyes, long brown hair that turned in at the bottom, and a smile that made you so relaxed, but made you acknowledge that she wasn't as calm as she looked.

The middle-aged one, 15 (my age) had grey eyes, honey-blonde hair and glasses. She had a pouch at her side. When I finally got a glance inside, I saw what it was full of. Books. Annabeth was gonna like this one.

The last and youngest, 12, had icy blue eyes, blonde hair that was amazing pretty, and a gorgeous smile.

As we flew to camp, I tried to guess which parent each of the girls had. Though they claimed to be sisters, I knew that was impossible. They each had different personalities and different features.

Flying through the skies wasn't easy for me. I am a son of Poseidon, so flying is risky. I watched each the girls, flying pretty steadily for new kids. I looked at the oldest. She reminded me of someone, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

When we landed, right outside the borders of camp, we were shocked by a startling "FREEZE!" We did as we were told.

"Percy?" the voice asked.

"Thalia?" I guessed.

"Who?" asked the middle-aged one.

I turned around, the three soon following my example.

The whole Huntress squad was there. Thalia, being head Lieutenant for Artemis, did most of the talking.

"Percy, according to the camp rules, Huntresses get to talk to the acceptable campers first."

By acceptable, I knew she meant girl. Huntresses swore to turn their backs against men. So, they only offered entry into their 'club' to girls.

"Of course," I choked, "go ahead."

To tell you the truth, I didn't want to let her talk to them. I didn't want Artemis to take more campers.

Thalia spent a couple of minutes talking to them about the benefits. I saw the youngest nod in disgust and storm away. _"I guess we'll at least get to keep one of them."_

Then, the middle-aged one nodded calmly and went to stand by her sister. The oldest kept listening. _"Please no,"_ I kept thinking, _"Don't go."_

Finally I saw her raise her right hand. I heard, "I, Angie Laurence…" Angie. Nice name. Then it finally hit me. Demeter! That was her mom. I sighed. We were losing Demeter kids. Another loss.

Then I watched her talk to her sisters. The youngest one looked away and pouted. The middle-aged, her hands on her little sister's shoulders, cried, but nodded silently. Then, Thalia said good-bye to me and the other girls, and left with Angie.

Ask we walked in the camp, I asked them a few questions. The little girl's name was Amy, and the middle-age's name was Ali.

"But you never told us your name," Ali insisted.

"Percy. Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon."

Ali's eyes widened. "But, he swore not to have kids after the Second World War!"

"Well, the others didn't do to well either. That Huntress you just met? That was Thalia, daughter of Zeus. And soon, you'll meet Nico, son of Hades, and…"

I was interrupted by Chiron's hooves clopping and stopping right in front of us. Grover was right behind him.

"Grover, why don't you take the girls to see the initiation video?" Chiron suggested.

"Sure. Come on you two," he bleated happily.

They skipped away.

"Come, Percy. We've been waiting for you." Chiron said.

The first thing that happened when I walked in: Annabeth hugged me.

"You stupid Seaweed Brain!" she yelled, "You could have gotten yourself killed!" But she was smiling crazily; probably glad to see was I wasn't a tasty seawater-flavored monster meal.

"What's going on?" I asked as I surveyed the room.

The long table that was used for important meetings was set up. Nine chairs were set up around it. One at the head, where Chiron had sat down. On one side was Silena, then the two Stoll brothers, then Beckendorf. On the other side was an empty chair (Grover's), Clarisse, another empty chair (Annabeth's), and Nico. Then I noticed, there wasn't one for me. That could only mean one thing…

"This council's about you," Nico said angrily. He looked tired. Guess my council woke him up.

"For what?" I asked, nervous. Annabeth had sat back down. I was on my own up here.

"Well," Silena began, "I was in the middle of my not needed beauty sleep, by not needed, I mean I'm pretty enough already. So anyway, I'm rudely awoken by the sound of flapping wings (I gulped). Then I went outside to see if a Pegasus escaped or something. But when I walked out, Blackjack was flying overhead, Percy on board. I guessed he was going to save those kids in St. Louis, and turns out I was right." She sat down.

"Didn't you say we couldn't do that?" Nico asked, half-asleep.

Half-asleep or not, I wanted to strangle him.

"That I did, Nico. Thank you. You may leave." Chiron said.

"Thank the gods!" he yelled, and he bolted out the door. For a tired kid, it was pretty fast.

"Percy, as Nico reminded us, I did indeed disregard all quests to St. Louis."

"But you don't understand!" I yelled. I didn't mean to shout, but it just came out that way. "They're in big trouble! When I got there, the three I saved were surrounded by empousai. EMPOUSAI!!! It's was dangerous, and I got there just in time. The rest of those kids I couldn't save are probably dead!"

The room was silent. Beckendorf stood up. "Um, Chiron sir, may I leave? I have to go to work in the forging area now."

"Yes, you may leave."

It was then I realized what time it was. It was about 4:30 in the morning. I was suddenly filled with guilt. All these people have been up since about 10:30, and I was responsible. I felt terrible.

"Look, I'm sorry. I owe you guys."

"You sure do!" Connor screamed.

"Yeah!" yelled Travis.

Everyone else started yelling in agreement. I felt my face turn red. In the midst of yelling I heard one voice shout above the rest.

"People!"

It was Annabeth.

"I can't believe you're complaining about sleep, when this guy didn't even go to sleep tonight, and he managed to save three demigods. You shouldn't yell at him for that. You should be rewarding him. Come on Percy. We're leaving." And just like that she grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door.

"Thanks," I said once she released my arm.

She smirked. "Like I said. Athena always has a plan."

I had to smile.

We walked along the river for a while, talking about the two new campers. Annabeth was thrilled to hear about someone who liked books. "Just what this camp needs," she said.

We laughed and talked for a while longer and then we sat down. We were right next to each other. No one else was around. I took a deep breath.

"Annabeth?" I said.

"Yeah, Seaweed Brain?" she said back.

I thought about how to put this.

"Annabeth, I really like you. A lot."

She turned to look at me. "Really?" she said with surprise, "Because I…"

She never got a chance to finish her sentence. Athena appeared out of thin air, which made me and Annabeth stop talking. Then I realized. My hand was on top of hers. I pulled it away quickly.

"Daughter," Athena spoke.

"Mother," Annabeth said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell young Percy something," she said. She pointed to a tree and then nodded for me to follow her there. I did. Annabeth watched us, visibly miserable.

"Perseus, I have one thing to say to you. Stay away from Annabeth. Just because you are an ungrateful hero does not give you the right to love my daughter."

I froze. The most intelligent thing my brain could think of to say was "Um, what?"

She gave a stern look, "You heard me, Son of Poseidon. Now leave my daughter alone." I averted my eyes as she disappeared, revealing her true form, which would turn me to dust if I dared to look.

I came back out of the woods. Annabeth looked concerned.

"Are you ok? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"No."

"Then what'd she say?"

"To stay away from you."

Ok, now let me tell you. I don't usually listen to gods threatening to kill me if I disobey them. One of my many great qualities. But, I had to listen to Athena this time. Not because it could hurt me, but because it could hurt Annabeth.

"I'm sorry. I truly am," I said. Then I ran back to the camp grounds, leaving Annabeth alone, and hurt.


	2. Capture the Flag Turns Gruesome

Percy's P.O.V

I sulked for the next couple of days, avoiding Annabeth. I talked to the new campers, played fetch with Mrs. O'Leary, and did my classes. But it all felt wrong.

I was touring the woods with Amy and Ali, when suddenly Nico came bursting out of the trees.

"Boo!" he yelled.

"Oh," I said, "You guys, this is Nico Di Angelo. Son of Hades, and King of Annoyance Ville. He likes to freak out new campers."

"Do not!" he argued.

"Whatever," Ali said, turning to the trees, "What a beautiful tree!"

Suddenly, Juniper arose from the tree. "Why thank you," she smiled. Next thing I knew, they were in a fascinating conversation about her tree.

Nico looked up at Amy. He paled. He stood up, brushed of his pants, fixed his hair, then smiled at her. "As he said, I'm Nico."

She blushed. "I'm Amy Laurence."

Nico turned to me. "Um, Percy, why don't you finish giving Ali the tour? I'll give Amy hers. Make it easier on you."

"Sure, whatever," I said sarcastically.

"Great!" he yelled. He grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her deeper into the forest.

I rolled my eyes. But I was happy at the same time. Nico had finally found someone his own age. I was home free.

I was leaving the Big House after talking to Chiron, when someone yelled after me.

"Percy!"

Annabeth was running toward me.

I sighed and kept walking. Then she screamed, and I couldn't help but listen.

"Percy! Please! Listen to me, and then walk away! I knew the minute I saw you that you were special. And I really think that you see me as special too. And, when you told me that you liked me, and then you started ignoring me. It really hurt. I am so hurt right now. And to tell you the real truth, I love you. You're the love of my life. And you're just going to drop me? Well, ok then. If that's your real choice, then ok. Ok. Go ahead and leave."

And with that, she dropped to her knees and started crying.

I was shocked. I didn't know she felt until now. I understood. I ran up the steps of the big house until my feet were directly in front of her. Then I offered her a hand up. She looked up, wiped tears away, and took it.

Once she was back on her feet, I stared at her. She stared back. Then I said two words that changed my life.

"Forget Athena."

Then she cracked a grin so wide it made clowns look depressed. Then, as though those words were magic, she kissed me. On the lips. Everyone around us stared. But she didn't cared. And you know what?

Neither did I.

We walked along the beach together, hand in hand. I was happy for a while that day, and I didn't mind the Ares cabin jeering at Annabeth and I. We were happy, and that was all that mattered. But our happiness drained away when the person we least wanted to see appeared.

"Mom," Annabeth whimpered.

I gripped her hand harder.

"Annabeth," she nodded to her daughter. Then she turned to me. She glanced at our hands.

"You disobeyed me, Son of Poseidon."

I was about say some really awesome comeback, like "Yeah… well, whatever," when Annabeth spoke up.

"Buzz off mom."

I took in a sharp breath. "Annabeth…" I whispered.

She squeezed my hand as if to say, _I'll be fine. _ I wasn't so sure.

"Mom, you're trying to tell me who to love. And I don't like it."

Whoa. Strong words. Had she been taking lessons from Silena?

"Annabeth, he's a son of… my enemy!"

"But we can be friends! Even more than friends! Because I'm not scared of you anymore!" Annabeth argued.

Athena paused. "Then we have nothing left to say."

And she disappeared.

I whistled. "You were a little hard on her," I joked.

Annabeth turned and smiled. "She can't control me anymore."

I smiled back, and we kept walking.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few days proceeded smoothly. Nico wasn't bothering me anymore, now that had found Amy, who turned out to be a daughter of Aphrodite. Although I could have assumed.

Capture the flag was tonight, and man was I excited. It was Athena against Aphrodite, (surprising, right?) and I knew Amy would take Nico. Athena made alliances with Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, and Hermes. Aphrodite made friendships with Hephaestus, (I knew that,) Dionysus, Apollo, and Hades, (or Nico, in other words). We were evenly matched. As Annabeth explained the plan, I watched Ali, hanging around the Hermes kids. Poor girl. She seemed so out of place with them. I hoped her parent would claim her soon.

When the conch blew and echoed through the woods, the game began. Annabeth, Clarisse and I started into the woods.

Halfway to the other side, we heard a bunch of Apollo kids gang up on someone.

"Oh no," Annabeth muttered.

"I'll go," I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Great, let's go Annabeth," Clarisse said, glad to see I was leaving.

And they ran into the bushes.

I ran toward the sound of the commotion. A bunch of Apollo kids were surrounding Ali, piercing her with arrows.

"Ow!" she kept yelling.

"Hey!" I shouted, uncapping Riptide, "Scram!"

They did as they were told, but they laughed as they ran. Uh-oh. I can smell new rumors already.

"Here," I said, offering her a hand.

She rejected it, trying to stand up alone. She fell right after she got off the ground. I offered my hand again. This time, she reluctantly took it.

"Sorry they ganged up on you like that. You are new, after all."

"Yeah," she murmured, rubbing her cuts.

We walked in silence for a while longer till we a low growl. We both froze.

"What's that?" she asked.

I truthfully didn't know. Until it showed itself.

It was about 7 feet tall and a sickly shade of yellow. It had one horn straight on it's forward, and it had four eyes. But that was nothing compared to it's tail. It was about 13 feet long, and had spikes. _Sharp spikes._ I slowly backed up, and she was doing the same.

"They really have monsters like _**this**_here?"

"No."

And with that, we both ran like the wind. Brushing branches past us was the easy part. We had to keep distracting it at the same time. Finally Ali stopped and turned around.

"What are you doing!?" I asked her.

"I always have a plan."

Now why did that sound so familiar?

Her plan was impressive for a newbie. She told me to take out Riptide. I did. Then, I was to wave it in the monster's face. I did. Then she stabbed it from the back. It disintegrated into yellow dust, which covered Ali. I couldn't help but laugh. She laughed too.

She stood for a while, as if she were waiting for something. But what?

Afterwards she sighed and walked on. I followed.

We ran back to the campgrounds only to see Nico waving a silver banner. The kids on the Aphrodite team lifted him up and carried him around. Figures. We lost.

Ali leaned against the silver railing of the bridge above the river. I leaned there too. Annabeth was busy cursing and complaining with her cabin mates, so I figured it wouldn't matter.

"What happened back there?" I asked her.

She stared into space, apparently thinking hard. "What do you mean?"

"You just stood there for a while."

She stroked the railing. "Percy, I know I'm not a Hermes child."

"I know that too."

She sighed. "I just thought, if I were too do something extraordinary…"

"Like slay that monster," I added.

"…then my parent would claim me. But I guess I'm not worthy enough."

I patted her on the shoulder. "He or she will claim you. I promise."

She smiled, but she didn't look convinced.

We walked back to the mess hall. Suddenly Annabeth came running toward us, bumping into Ali.

"Oh sorry," she muttered to Ali. Then she turned to me. "Percy! Hurry! Nico fainted!"


	3. Ali's Secret

Percy's P.O.V

The three of us ran up to the mess hall, right into a crowd of people. We fought our way to the front, where Amy was on her knees right next to Nico.

"H-he just dropped down! I don't… it doesn't…" she gasped.

Ali helped her up. Then Annabeth and I crouched down next to him.

"His breathing is slow," Annabeth concluded, "Percy; help me carry him to the Big House."

We carried him carefully, so we wouldn't drop him.

When we finally got into the Big House "hospitality" room, we put him on a bed and sat down on another together, panting and breathing heavily.

"He's heavier then I thought," she laughed.

I laughed too.

We chatted for a while and watched Nico twitch, (It's funnier than it sounds,) when he suddenly shot upwards in bed.

"Nico?" I asked.

He looked kind of scary. His eyes were glassy, distant. He was even paler than usual.

Then he said, "Chaos."

Annabeth and I exchanged glances. "What is it Nico? Are you ok?" she said in a soothing voice.

Nico seemed to just notice us. He blinked, the glassy look leaving his face. "Uh… what?"

Annabeth got up and knelt next to him. "Nico," she said calmly, "You said something about chaos. Did you have a dream? Do you know why you fainted?"

He shook his head, shaking the daze off. "I had dream alright. It was terrifying. The camp was in flames. I turned to face Percy, and he stabbed me. I screamed and fell to the ground. Then, Luke came from behind Percy and said 'Nice work, buddy.' I gasped and started losing breath. Then the scene changed. I was in a dark room. Luke had Annabeth by the arm, and Amy and Ali were on the floor. I tried to talk, but my voice wasn't working. After I found out I couldn't talk, I got up started running toward everyone. But suddenly, my legs felt like lead, and time slowed down. I reached for Amy, and she reached for me, but Luke pushed me aside. I pulled out my sword, but Percy slapped it aside. I was speechless and weaponless. I saw Percy walk towards Ali. He cut her leg. But she didn't bleed. I mean, she did, but it wasn't red. It was golden ichor. I gasped. I tried to trip Percy, but it wasn't working. But I wasn't surprised. I was too stunned by the golden ichor. I kept thinking, 'Ali, a godling? No way!' but the ichor was proof. Then I woke up to find you two staring at me."

This was a lot to take in.

"So," Annabeth said, thinking so much her brain was probably running a million miles an hour, "Percy was evil and working with Luke. He betrayed you, and then the scene changed."

"And you discovered Ali was a minor goddess," I concluded.

Nico nodded. "But you don't think… Ali really… a goddess?"

Then we heard music playing in the piano room.

The three of us walked down the hallway and peered in the door.

There was Ali at the piano, playing music. She was really good.

"Wait a minute," Annabeth pulled us aside.

"So she always has a plan and likes books, but at the same time, she is excellent at music. I can guess Athena, but whom else?"

We all exchanged nervous looks.

"Has she read any poetry? Or is she really good at archery?" Nico asked.

"Well, she read me this awesome poem yesterday," Annabeth said.

"And I've seen her at archery. She a natural," I said.

"Apollo," Annabeth whispered.

Nico turned pale. "But if she's a minor goddess, how come her parents won't claim her?"

"Embarrassment," I suggested.

"Or maybe it has to do with the war. You guys are already a big problem, but a minor goddess down here…" Annabeth said through worried lips.

Apparently, Nico was thinking the same thing, because he turned even paler. I took in a deep breath.

"But how come she can't go up to Olympus?" I questioned.

Annabeth sighed. "I'm sure if they won't claim her, they don't want her up there. Besides, it's already crowded up there."

"She won't want to, anyway," Nico stated, "She won't leave Amy behind. And she doesn't even understand how much of a threat she is."

"I'm not a threat."

We all turned around to see a very angry Ali. I stopped breathing.

"How much did you hear?" Annabeth asked.

"Enough," she said simply. Her voice was shaking from anger.

"Look, Ali, we're still going to be your friends," I began.

"Forget it," she growled, "I don't want to 'cause a war' or anything."

She stormed away.

"Ali!" I yelled. Annabeth covered my mouth.

"She's ok for now," she said, "We have other problems."

She looked me in the eyes.

"What? Do you really think I'm working for Kronos? Or Luke?" I asked, my anger rising as well.

She nodded her head. "I don't think so. But you can never be sure."

That was true. With all the traitors these days, you can never be sure who's on who's side.

Nico yawned. "Well, I'm gonna go get some sleep. I'll tell you if I have any more dreams." He jogged away, color returning to his face.

A couple of days passed, but I couldn't help but feel guilty. I knew Ali was just naïve, and didn't understand that she was important, but I still felt I needed to apologize.

I saw her sitting on the fireworks beach, her hair blowing in the breeze. I went down and sat next to her. She didn't say hi.

"Look, I'm sorry," I murmured.

She didn't answer.

"I know this is hard to take in, but we think you may be a minor goddess. A child of two gods. No mortals involved."

She turned to look at me. "What?"

"So," I continued, "You are just as much of a threat to everyone's safety as me or Nico. But we're not going to abandon you. If we were going to, they would have abandoned me too, and I would be pretty lonely right now."

She actually smiled. "Thanks for apologizing, Percy. I should have trusted you. Um… do you think you could… or we could…"

I paused. "Uh… what?"

I knew what was coming. I never thought I'd be a girl magnet, but so many people like me. Calypso did, (although she probably would've liked anyone who landed on her cursed island,) Rachel does, at least I think, and Annabeth does. That I know. And I already exposed my feelings for her, so technically we're a "couple". I couldn't stand another person crushing on me.

"I was hoping you could… help me with a relationship with… Travis Stoll."

I breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't _love _me. But Travis? That was just strange. Although, he did kind of have the same looks as Luke, who was apparently a heartthrob, so I can see how she would like him.

"I've spent a lot of time with him since I've been in the Hermes cabin so I really have gotten close to him. He's funny. And he only stole my hairbrush once."

I smiled.

"I'll see what I can do," I told her.

"Thanks." She kissed me on the cheek and then walked up the shore to the cabins.


	4. A Returning Traitor and a New Guest

Percy's P.O.V

The next day nobody was up in the morning except for me and Annabeth.

"Why do you think everybody's in their cabins?" Annabeth questioned.

I shrugged and we kept walking. Suddenly, Clarisse came running out of the woods, panting hard.

"What happened?" I asked.

She looked up, just noticing us. "He's too powerful! That stupid boy… he led me in there with him… ugh."

We exchanged glances, then ran into the woods.

It was dark and foggy. There was gray smoke everywhere. We walked farther in. I thought it was hopeless and we were going to get lost and be stuck in here forever, when Annabeth screamed.

"Luke!"

Peering harder into the fog, I could make out a figure with sandy blonde hair. Then another figure. It was a boy, I could tell. He was shorter than Luke, and by the way he was standing, I could also tell he was mad. We ran through the fog.

"You're hopelessly lost. Your father doesn't care about you," Luke sneered.

"Yes he does!" the boy bellowed, "And I can beat you!"

"I'm way more powerful than you," Luke taunted.

The boy swung his sword, Luke side-stepped, sending the boy falling to the ground.

The boy started coughing from the smoke. No, it wasn't the smoke. It was Luke. He had placed his foot firmly on the boy's chest, making it hard for him to breath.

Suddenly, an arrow soared over our heads and lodged itself firmly in Luke's shoulder. "Argh!" he yelled in pain.

We ran in. We helped the boy up. He coughed and fell back down. Then I realized.

"Nico?"

He nodded and coughed again. Annabeth helped him.

I was about to pummel Luke, but Ali came running in and hit him with more arrows. He yelled again. Then he ran.

Ali smiled at me. "That's repayment for saving me and my sisters."

I smiled back. "Ok."

My smile melted away when an owl and a mouse appeared over head.

"You-you've been claimed."

She looked up and stared.

"Congratulations," Annabeth said.

And altogether we carried Nico back to the Big House.

Ali stayed in the big house now, because Chiron wasn't prepared to have a goddess here, even if she was only minor. The worst part was, nobody would even talk to her! It was like she was from planet Woo! And no one wanted to get contaminated. The only people that spoke to her was Annabeth, Grover and I. Even Amy stopped talking to her. Although, I hated seen her in a while anyway…

"Percy!" Ali yelled, "Are you listening?"

"Uh… yes."

"Of course you were," Annabeth smiled. She squeezed my hand.

"I was saying," Ali replied, staring at our hands, "That no one has seen Nico in a while."

"I haven't seen Amy either."

"What do you reckon?" Annabeth asked.

Ali sighed. "I think they went after Luke."

I stood up, knocking over my chair. "WHAT? Why in Hades name would they do that? They're only twelve! You don't really… that they… and he…"

She nodded. "I really think they did. Nico for sure. And Amy probably went with him because she likes Nico."

That was another thing. "She does?!"

"Oh yeah," Ali said, "Can't stop talking about him. 'Oh Ali, he's so nice!' and 'Oh Ali, Nico did the funniest thing today,' and don't forget, 'Didn't Nico look so cute in his black jeans today?'"

I burst out laughing. Annabeth joined in. Soon, all three of us were laughing really hard.

"Okay…" Annabeth said, catching her breath, "let's focus. Should we go save them?"

"Let's get packing," Ali said.

"Wait," I warned, "I think Luke wants us to follow. Maybe we should wait until we get some kind of message."

"Like a distress message from Amy or Nico?" Annabeth suggested.

"Yeah."

We agreed to wait for a distress call.

Before Ali left for the big house, we told her not to worry about Amy. That Nico would take care of her, (at least I hoped he would.)

After saying bye to Amy, Annabeth and I walked down to the fireworks beach. I sat comfortably in the sand, and Annabeth lay flat on her stomach, drawing pictures of architecture in the sand.

She sighed. I looked up. "What?" I asked.

"Nico's an idiot."

"That I knew already."

We shared a small laugh and then talked about camp. Right before I was going to tell her about Ali liking Travis, I heard a light, "Percy!"

I whipped around. Annabeth stood. There at the top of the hill, was none other than Calypso.

"Hi, Percy!" she yelled as she ran down the hill. Annabeth looked pretty upset. "What is she doing here?" she sniffed.

"I really don't know," I said, smiling.

Calypso stood there for a moment, sighed happily, then embraced me in a hug. When she let go, I said, "Hey Calypso."

She smiled shyly. "For a second, I thought you didn't remember me."

"Yeah right." I said.

She giggled. "Oh, you must be Annabeth. I've been so anxious to meet you. You seem really cool. Percy couldn't stop talking about you when we first met!"

Annabeth looked reluctant. "You don't say."

She turned to me. "Look Percy, I'll see you at the pavilion." She took one last scowling look at Calypso, and then stalked off.

Calypso turned deadly serious. "Did I make her mad?"

I shrugged but didn't answer.

"Oh, ok. Well, I guess I'll see you around camp."

My eyes widened. "You're staying?"

"Well… yes. Bye, Percy."

After she left, I flopped in the sand. _Perfect, _I thought, _now Annabeth is jealous just because Calypso arrived unexpectedly. Could this get any worse?_

"Probably," Ali said, as if she'd read my mind. She sat down next to me. "In fact, it could be a lot worse. You could be some sick slave of Kronos right now."

I nodded. "Touché."

Ali stood taking in a deep breath of sea air. "Besides," she said calmly, "Calypso isn't coming to save the twelve year old menaces. You'll have _plenty _of time to clear things up with Annabeth then." Ali walked down the beach, eventually meeting up with Travis.

I sighed and walked up to my cabin. After slamming the door, I flopped on my bed. I looked sadly at the empty bunk on the other side of the room. By Cyclops brother, Tyson was with my dad underwater. I didn't know the next time I'd see him, or if I'd ever see him again anyway!

I closed my eyes to think, and soon fell asleep. I must have dozed off pretty long, because it was dark when I woke up. Grover was shaking me hard.

"PERCY! WAKE UP NOW!!!"

I lazily sat up. "What?" I said.

"We have something to tell you!"

"We?" I asked. I peered behind Grover. Annabeth was sitting on Tyson's bed.

"We… we…" she stuttered.

"What?"

"Ugh! We got a distress call from Amy."

I suddenly wasn't tired anymore. "You did? What did she say?"

"Well… almost nothing. She just called out for help. Although, she did thankfully mention the coordinates of where she is."

"Oh, good." I said with fake relief. I didn't really want to go. But I did want to save them.

"Yeah… so let's go."

"What? Now?"

"Well duh, Seaweed Brain! We aren't going to keep them waiting! How rude would that be, huh?" she smirked.

In only a short amount of time, Ali was meeting us at the Fireworks Beach at midnight, and Grover had Blackjack waiting contently with two other Pegasi.

"You sure you don't want to come, G-man?" I asked sadly.

He nodded. "Yup. I should stay here. Tell you if they come back. You know the usual sidekick stuff." **(A/N: Poor Grover!)**

"You're no sidekick Grover. You're the super hero," I corrected him.

"Yeah, well. That's beside the point. Good luck you guys."

Ali nodded gratefully. We mounted our Pegasi with great care, especially Ali, who was new to the experience, except that one quick ride with me. Although she probably wasn't concerned about how to fly one at that point.

And we were off in the sky.


	5. Feelings

~*~*~*~*~

Annabeth was clutching her Pegasus's mane so lightly, I was afraid she would fall off. I turned to my right. Ali was actually far ahead of us, keeping a steady pace.

"I'm sorry about Calypso, Annabeth. I really didn't know she was coming."

Annabeth shook her head. "Nah, it's okay. I guess I was just kind of nervous that you were going to run off with her, since we had just started our relationship."

"I would never do that Annabeth! You are… the only one for me. Even Calypso can't beat that."

Annabeth smiled. Her honey blonde hair was flowing gently behind her. Her stormy gray eyes looked gratefully into mine. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. And sorry about the jealously." "Don't even worry about it," I murmured. And we rode on.

The hours passed quicker than I had anticipated. We were almost to the coordinates, thankfully, or else we would have been spotted in the early morning light.

We landed on a rocky island. I dismounted my Pegasus and helped Annabeth dismount hers. Ali was already scanning the territory.

"I think I can see a cave in the rock face, but it's a steep climb. You guys up for it?" she asked us playfully.

"Of course," I replied. Annabeth nodded heartily. "Alright, let's go." Ali said.

We trekked for three hours under the beating sun. Finally reaching the rock face Ali had pointed out earlier, we peered inside the deep cave. "Hello?" I called in. No answer.

"Come on, we'll need a better view," Ali suggested, and she stalked into the cave. Annabeth and I followed cautiously. What if Luke had positioned a billion little monsters in here to rip us to shreds? I pushed that thought quickly out of my mind.

"Since we can see a good amount here, maybe we should rest for the night?" Annabeth said.

"You had me at rest," I admitted.

Ali looked concerned. "I don't know if we have enough time."

"I promise we won't take too long, Ali," I swore.

"Yeah, only a couple hours," Annabeth pleaded.

Ali sighed. "Fine. But while you yellowbellies rest, I'm going to write up a maneuver plan in case of emergency.

And so, Annabeth and I settled down for a nap. She slept right next to me, so I was a little awkward. But whatever, right?

And just because only slept for two hours, doesn't mean I didn't have enough time to **dream…**

_I was sitting in what looked like a chamber room. I looked across the wall as two shadowy figures came towards me. Though I knew they couldn't see me, I still panicked and hid behind a rock._

_I recognized the figures as soon as they came around the corner. Nico and Amy!_

"_Nico, I really think we should back to camp now. What if we get hurt? Luke is really powerful, or so I've heard. What if he hurts us?"_

_Nico whipped around. "Come on Amy! Be brave! We're so close, I can feel it. Luke took something from me, Amy. My pride. And he __can't__ keep it."_

_Amy looked so scared. "But Nico…"_

"_Shh!" Nico warned. And he inched against the wall. Amy copied him. _

_Suddenly, Nico's eyes turned all glassy, and he bit his lip. Amy looked utterly confused, (and thoroughly terrified, though that was obvious,)._

_He shook his head and looked worriedly at Amy. "Amy, bad news. I just had this feeling that…"_

_It got very dark in the tunnel. I heard Nico yell and Amy scream. Then the last thing I saw was Amy unconscious on the floor, and no Nico._

I woke up holding Annabeth's hand. Why did that happen? I gasped when I realized Annabeth's head was on my shoulder. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised; we are dating, after all. I guess I wasn't used to the concept of girls, yet.

Ali didn't even look up. "You awake now?" she asked calmly.

"Uh, yeah…" I said shakily.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked, rising from her comfortable sleeping position.

"I had a dream," I replied.

"Uh-oh," Annabeth understood, "Tell us the gory details."

I explained how Nico and Amy were in the tunnel, and how Nico had 'sensed' something and how it had gotten very dark, and how Amy didn't seem too happy about being there.

"Hmm, well I can understand Amy not wanting to be there. I've lived with her for years. But the darkness and the sensation I can't quite pinpoint their reasons," Ali concluded.

"So we should pretty much venture in the tunnel?" Annabeth guessed.

"Bingo!" Ali said half – heartedly.

Ali spent a few minutes going over full-proof emergency plan. Then we packed up from our rest and walked towards the mouth of the tunnel.

We were a fourth in when a random rainbow appeared. It shimmered lightly, and said, "Please deposit one drachma."

Annabeth frantically searched her pockets. "I don't have any! Percy, check your bag!"

"Already on it," I confirmed. I fished through the pocket I keep my blankie in, (yes, I still have a blankie. Even demigods need security blankets,) and picked up a golden drachma. I threw it in between the rainbow, and it shimmered into a picture of Grover. He looked panicked.

"Hey G-man. What's the biggie?" I asked.

He looked around nervously, and then whispered, "Chiron knows you guys are gone. But he doesn't know where. What should I tell him?"

I panicked too. Chiron knew! But Ali thought on her feet. "Say we're visiting my mom's house, because I was really homesick!"

Annabeth brightened. "Yeah! And we're going to stop and see the St. Louis Arch on the way back."

I was awed at their fast thinking. I would have never come up with _that._ I would probably have said something really intelligent like, "Uh, we went for a bite to eat," which wouldn't have made sense, because camp half-blood's food is delicious!

"Well, I suppose that could work, but you guys have to turn yourselves in once you get back."

"Of course, Grover!" Annabeth chimed.

He frowned, and disconnected the message.

We had walked about half a mile when we heard depressed sobs echoing through the cave.

"That must be Amy!" Ali exclaimed, and immediately started to follow the sound.

We raced through the tunnels as the crying got louder. Eventually, we came up to this quaint little opening exactly like the one in my dream. And there was Amy, curled into a ball in the corner, alone and sobbing. We all rushed towards her.

"Amy, are you okay," a concerned Ali said, picking up her sister and propping her against the wall. Amy hid her face in her knees.

"He's gone!" she sobbed, "I should have known this was going to happen! My dream practically spoke for itself."

I didn't really have time to focus on her dream right now, because I had to squeeze information out of her. "Amy, I understand how traumatized you must be, but can I ask you a question about what happened?"

"Percy! Do you really think she wants to talk about what happened to her, right after it happened?!" Ali snapped. But Amy raised a shaking hand to stop Ali. "He can ask me a couple. Maybe it'll help clear my head," she reasoned. She rested her head onto the back of the wall, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She looked so peaceful, I wondered for a second if she had fallen asleep.

"Okay, shoot."

"Right before the darkness, Nico said something about feeling something. What did he say, exactly?"

Suddenly, Amy broke out in sobs all over again. My eyes grew wide. "I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"Percy," she bawled, "He said…"

"Yes?" I said hopefully.

"He said… 'I just had this feeling that someone is going to die.'"

Amy broke out into all new sobs. Her sister hugged her and comforted her, and gave me a 'Why'd you have to go and do that?' look. I shrugged. Annabeth slapped me upside the head. "Ow!" I groaned.

Amy stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "No, Percy has a right to ask that. No come on. I want to go fins Nico. I hope he's not…" she would not finish the sentence.

Percy shuddered at the same thought. What if Nico was… dare he say it… dead? He was only twelve. He hadn't been able to do much to earn right to the Elysium.

I shoved that thought to the very back of my mind, and kept it there for as long as possible.

After resting with Amy for the night, we packed up, hydrated Amy, and began again. It was about three minutes into the walk I realized something itching my shoulder. I ripped at it, and retrieved a piece of paper that had been rudely placed there. I read it over.

_**Percy Jackson,**_

_**I will inform you that Nico Di Angelo, the stupid boy I have grown to greatly detest, is not dead. Yet. But do not feign ignorance, Percy Jackson. Nico's time is shortening. Unless you give me what I want, I will destroy the very existence that is Nico. But you will have to wait to find out what that is.**_

_**In short, Nico will not escape unharmed. And neither will you, Annabeth, Ali, or Amy.**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Luke Castellian/Kronos, Lord of Time.**_

I gulped, and handed the note to Annabeth.


End file.
